Sun, 08/10/2025 - 7:39pm

Ed O’Brien

Blueberry Hannah and her crew. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

The town gathers to vote on sending the school budget to the voters. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Selling tickets in the early morning. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

The kitchen crew preparing to send out plates upon plates of blueberry pancakes. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Roberta oversees the baked goods for sale. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Blueberry Hannah and her crew. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

The town gathers to vote on sending the school budget to the voters. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Selling tickets in the early morning. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

The kitchen crew preparing to send out plates upon plates of blueberry pancakes. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Roberta oversees the baked goods for sale. (Photo by Ed O’Brien)

Time seems to be moving faster than it used to. We approach mid-August. The days are still warm, but as sunset approaches, earlier every day, one may reach for the sweatshirt. Evenings are getting a bit chilly.

I chopped up a few of the first tomatoes harvested from the garden last night, mixed them with store bought cucumbers and red onion (the ones in the garden aren’t ready yet) and served them with feta and olives from Hannaford.

The cucumbers and onions in the garden will be ready soon.

Is it something about the changing seasons of these northern climes that makes time seem to go so fast? From tilling to planting to harvesting — there is always a new task at hand. Now it is time to figure out the best way to preserve the summer crops before winter. Time to can tomato sauce, pickle the green beans, turn those berries into jam to spread on an English muffin on a cold January morning.

The firewood awaits stacking, and the cold months are always in the back of our minds. That pile of branches in the back field still needs to be burned on some damp autumn weekend in the near future.

Then all the chores that involve readying an old house for winter. Making sure the minor repairs and projects are completed before the snow flies. Or, as is more frequent in these days, the slush and ice.

Once we are in the throes of winter, the planning for the spring begins. Deciding what to plant in the upcoming year, and is it time to order a new batch of laying hens? Plan for the next summers projects.

This way, the seasons and years fly by.

In September, all three of my children will start school at Camden Hills Regional High School. Freshman, Sophomore, Senior. Time moves fast.

Things change slowly in a small town like Lincolnville, in spite of the way the years pass so quickly. Change happens regardless.

The gray in my beard and the occasional stiffness of my joints in the morning signify that the years are adding up in me as well, and I wouldn’t object to things slowing down a little more.

I suppose it is up to me to slow things down. In spite of perspective, time is moving along exactly as it always will. So I will try to appreciate each day as it comes, in the knowledge that while nothing lasts forever, it is the moment we are in that matters.

Blueberry Wing-ding

Saturday morning brought the Lincolnville Improvement Association’s annual Blueberry Wing-ding. Thankfully, Ma offered to bring my middle son down to McLaughlin’s at 4:30 a.m. to clean the kitchen before the LIA volunteers arrived to start cooking blueberry pancakes and sausage.

We were there by 7, as both our boys also work for Hannah Burke, Blueberry Hannah, who took her entire crew of young workers out to breakfast, to enjoy “the fruits of their labor” (Ugh), before another long day of cleaning blueberries at the state-of-the-art winnower in her garage.

Maybe for the first time, Ma forgo volunteering in the kitchen to enjoy pancakes with her family, and was amazed with the efficiency of the operation.

Thanks to Rick McLaughlin for once again opening his restaurant up to the people of Lincolnville, and to Hannah and her crew for the sweetest blueberries in the Midcoast.

School Budget Vote Tuesday

From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. the polls will be open at Lincolnville Central School for a vote on the corrected school budget.

Last Tuesday, townspeople in attendance at the Town Meeting voted 63 to 17 to fix the clerical error which resulted in the school budget being shorted the full amount that the town voted on in June. The question now goes to the polls. Should Tuesday’s vote pass, the budget will remain what we all thought we were voting on in June, with no increased burden on tax payers. Should it fail, the school will have to make some tough decisions which will greatly impact our students.

The Roads of Lincolnville

Commuting to Camden every morning, I had gotten used to taking Youngtown Road to avoid the extensive road work the state is doing on US 1/Atlantic Highway. The town and the state fix their roads on different schedules, and Lincolnville has started their planned project of replacing the box culvert on Youngtown, work that should be complete in mid September, closing that road to through traffic.

I could just take Route 1, and cope with a slight delay, but I don’t mind taking the scenic route through Lincolnville. It might be a little annoying, but better this than a failed culvert next spring. Also, Gretchen’s crew at Drake Corner Store cooks up a tasty sausage, egg, and cheese English muffin, and it is now on my way to work.

Library Happenings

Needleworkers are invited from 3-5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Thursday from 3-4 p.m., the first Cribbage at the Library will be hosted, with the anticipation of an ongoing bi-monthly game day. Learn to play, or test your skills against your neighbors. I remember from my childhood, this game can get a bit competitive.

On Saturday, August 16, at 10 a.m., educators and adventurers Beth Heiderman and Curtis Bentley of Go2Science, will present “Dig into Dinosaurs!” They will bring a collection of fossils and a life sized dinosaur skull to share with the curious youth of Lincolnville. The library’s summer children’s program is sponsored by the West Bay Rotary Club.

LCS Eighth Grade Fundraiser at Flatbread

This Tuesday, August 12, the incoming Eighth Grade at LCS will be holding a fundraiser at Flatbread pizza in Rockport, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. $2 per small pizza and $4 per large pizza sold, eat in or take out, will go to the class for their year end trip. Enjoy a delicious pizza or three and support the LCS class of ‘26!

Lincolnville Center Indoor Flea Market

From 8 a.m. to noon, the UCC sponsored flea market will be held at the Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road in the Center. Expect a wide variety of goods, from antiques to seasonal decor, farm products, and of course, church-lady baked goods. Proceeds go toward upkeep of the 1820 meeting house, and the church ministries, such as the Good Neighbor Fund.

Live in the moment, Lincolnville. Time will pass whether or not you enjoy it. Appreciate the community you live in, work to change what you can, while accepting all that you cannot. Enjoy these waning days of summer, the warm days, the cool nights. Autumn and winter will come in its time, as it always does.

As ever, reach out at ceobrien246@gmail.com.

Municipal Calendar

Monday, August 11

Historical Society Museum Open, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., 33 Beach Road

Land Use Committee, 5 p.m., Town Office

Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Town Office

Recreation Commission, 6 p.m. Town Office

Tuesday, August 12

School Budget Validation Referendum Election, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., LCS

Library open 3-6 p.m. 208 Main Street

AA Meeting 12:15 p.m., Community Building, 18 Searsmont Road

Special Town Meeting, School Budget, 6 p.m. Walsh Common, LCS